’Canes relishing win over ’Noles
CORAL GABLES (AP) – Miami is back in the national rankings, on top of the Atlantic Coast Conference, and spent Tuesday savoring a drama-filled win over a huge rival.
It all made Randy Shannon yawn.
“It’s one win,” Shannon said. “That’s all it is.”
Maybe it was just the late flight and sleepless night after a 38-34 victory at Florida State that left the Hurricanes coach feeling a bit fatigued. Or maybe it was all the day-after-game responsibilities that awaited, like breaking down game films and taping his weekly television show.
More likely, he already was coming to terms with the realization that this season is far from over. Case in point? Two years ago, Miami won another back-and-forth tussle in Tallahassee. It finished the year 5-7.
“The only thing you can worry about is the next opponent,” Shannon said. “That’s Georgia Tech.”
Oddly, Miami finds itself in a similar spot entering the Sept. 17 game against the Yellow Jackets. A year ago, Miami hopped into the AP Top 25 poll immediately before playing Georgia Tech, and was beaten 41-23 in Atlanta – a game that wasn’t even as close as the score indicated – to lose any shot of winning the ACC title.
Monday, Miami went from unranked to back in the Top 25 again, checking in at No. 20. The Seminoles dropped out of the Top 25 with the loss.
“It won’t even faze this team,” Shannon said. “The only thing they want to do is win and get the ranking at the end of the season. The only thing this team is worried about is taking care of the things it has to get done. This team is different, remember.”
Shannon planned to get a report from team doctors sometime Tuesday about a slew of players who were nicked up against the Seminoles, including wide receiver Aldarius Johnson (groin) and cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke, who left early in Monday’s game with an undisclosed injury.
One guy Shannon insisted he wasn’t worried about: Quarterback Jacory Harris.
Making only his third career start, the sophomore threw for 386 yards – the third-most in the country on college football’s opening weekend, and the most by a Miami quarterback since Ken Dorsey threw for 422 against West Virginia on Oct. 26, 2002 – and put together a game-winning drive in the final minutes.
All with a hurting arm, no less. Harris said he got hit on the funny bone when Florida State’s Greg Reid blitzed him in the fourth quarter. The hit forced Harris’ pass to float softly skyward and Markus White intercepted it and ran 31 yards for a touchdown.
“Never happened to me before,” Harris said. “My whole arm, all the way up to my shoulder, got numb.”
So did the Miami sideline.
Freshman A.J. Highsmith started warming up, but Harris never missed a play. He said he couldn’t feel anything in two of his fingers, but still completed 7-of-9 for 122 yards after getting hurt. One drive was capped with a touchdown pass to Cooper, the other punctuated by a perfect 40-yard ball to Travis Benjamin to set up Cooper’s TD run with 1:53 left.
“Please, fellas, don’t make a big deal out of this. You all will be writing stories for no reason if you do,” Shannon said about Harris’ injury in his day-after game session with reporters. “I’m just giving you the heads-up. If you want to write about his arm trouble and all of this, the editor is just going to get mad at you.”
There was plenty Shannon didn’t like from Monday’s game; sloppy penalties, some miscommunications on coverages that exposed linebackers when Florida State’s Christian Ponder threw the ball, and some struggles getting off the field on third-downs.
Ultimately, the positives outweighed the negatives.
“We’re worn out, but it feels great,” Miami left tackle Jason Fox said. “It’s an amazing feeling. Words can’t describe it.”
Miami is back on the practice field Thursday, and the extra day or two of preparation for Georgia Tech’s triple-option offense is one of the things the Hurricanes liked about the way the schedule worked out.